This artwork is part of a project called "In Portugal", which consists of a selection of photographs taken in public sites throughout the Iberian country. Typical of Candida Höfer, the artist has photographed empty interiors of libraries, museums, palaces and theaters.
Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf - Contemporary, 21st Century, C Print, Limited Edition, Photography, Red, Interiors, Art
38 x 53,5 cm (14.9 x 21 in.)
Edition of 100
Signed and numbered and accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity
In mint condition, in the original packaging as acquired from the publisher
PLEASE NOTE: Edition numbers could vary from the one shown in the images.
The pictures are only for illustrative reasons, the work is offered unframed.
The daughter of a ballet dancer and a theater critic, it is not unusual for Höfer to occupy her photography practice with theaters and opera houses; a subject so dear to her as her childhood memories. Typical of Candida Höfer, the artist has photographed empty interiors of libraries, museums, palaces, and theaters, focusing on the cultural spaces free from human presence. As stated by the German artist, "spaces may or may not invite the image—if they do, they mostly do it with their spatial layers of time… It is then the image that takes the place of the space; the image in its own right."
The self-imposed subject restrictions evident in her project are both cultural and formal in nature. The Baroque, modern and contemporary interiors Höfer captures through her lens provide a “formal portrait of the social itself,” as it has been defined in Europe since the Enlightenment.
"I approach the subjects more or less methodically: shooting from the stage to the audience, from the audience to the stage, from side to side, and then moving on to any other areas in the space that I discover during the process. One of the reasons for doing it this way is purely pragmatic: I always work under time constraints. Because I use available light, the shots tend to take a long time, and such places are always alive — rehearsals are scheduled, alterations to the sets are being made and technicians and cleaning people are usually waiting." —Candida Höfer
CANDIDA HÖFER
Candida Höfer has been photographing both public and semi-public spaces in a style defined by an anachronistic approach since 1989.
Candida Höfer (1944, Eberswalde, Germany) has been photographing both public and semi-public spaces in a style defined by an anachronistic approach since 1989. After studying at the Kölner Werkschule between 1964 and 1968, Candida Höfer attended the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf (Germany), initially reading film with Ole John (1973-1976) and then photography with Bernd Becher (1976 -1982). Following in the tradition of the Düsseldorf School of photography, Candida Höfer has often captured images of waiting rooms, spa resorts, banks, churches, libraries, theaters, and museums.
"I do my work. My work is my statement. Generally, I think, there is too much interest in what an artist has to say. Or what she or he looks like, instead of what she or he does." —Candida Höfer
These transitional spaces are also places where universal culture is accumulated, organized, and conserved to an encyclopedic degree, and are photographed by the artist with a rigor and simplicity approaching minimalism. Immediately recognizable, Candida Höfer’s photographs crystallize the peculiar inherent in places where often an illustrious history clashes with their present-day use. As in Spiegelkantine at Hamburg’s Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, the lighting for these neutral shots comes solely from the natural light of the location. Spaces normally packed with visitors are shown devoid of human presence: all that remains are the outlines of these architectural products of culture or industry.
